Artificial limb



E. BLEVENS Jan. 5, 1954 ARTIFICIAL LIMB Filed Oct. 27, 1952 INVENTOR EMMETT BLEVENS ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 5, 1954 UNITED TATsES PATENT 4 w 3, 4,57 j

ARTIFICIAL LIMB Emmett Blevens, Louisville, Ky.

Application October 27, 1952, Serial No. 317,129

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an artificial limb for below the knee amputations. It requires no straps or harness to retain it in position.

The object of this invention is to provide a limb which may be worn without straps or harness of any kind to retain it in position and yet which will be securely held in place.

A further object of this invention is to provide a limb which will promote a healthy condition in the stump and which will not restrict the circulation by compressing the limb above the knee with any kind of straps or harness.

It has been recognized for years that the straps used to retain artificial limbs in position chafed and restricted circulation in the limb frequently causing it to shrink and dwindle in size and, at least, causing great discomfort. My own prior invention, as shown in U. S. Patent No. 2,080,003, reduced the size and discomfort of the strap, but it was still necessary to have the strap to retain the artificial limb in position.

My present invention does away with all manner of external fastening devices and has no straps or harnesses of any kind. It depends upon a cavity within the calf portion of the limb and the natural expansion of the stump into this cavity to hold the artificial limb in position.

The invention will be described in greater detail in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a side view of the leg and artificial limb in working position with a portion cut away to show the internal construction,

Figure 2 is a back view of a pad used in the initial stages of becoming accustomed to the new artificial limb. and V Figure 3 is a side elevation of the pad shown in Figure 2. v

Referring to the drawing, the artificial limb has a leg portion In and a conventional foot portion II with conventional toe portion I 2 connected to the foot portion 1 l with a conventional resilient joint l3.

The cavity [4, which received the stump, is of conventionally straight slightly tapered configuration on the front interior surface IS.

The rear interior surface l6, however, is hollowed out, so that the space behind the portion of the stump where the calf of the leg normally is, is considerably larger in circumference than the top portion [1.

Since most present amputees have made no effort to develop the muscles of the calf of the leg with the amputation, and since, in fact, the conventional artificial limb actually constricts and shrinks the muscles where the calf would normally be, it is not always ossible for the amputee to immediately start using my new invention without some accessory device. Therefore, in starting to use this new limb, a person who has been using a conventional artificial limb, and does not have adequate calf muscles, retains the limb in position with the aid of a specially shaped pad i8, made of sponge rubber or other resilient material.

This pad [8 is retained in position on the wearers stump by first pulling over the stump a stocking i9, then placing the pad [8 where the calf muscles would normally be and pulling over the whole a second stocking 20. The wearer is then equipped to force the stump and pad into the artificial limb where the pad will expand in the cavity provided for it and will retain the limb in position.

Users of my new invention have found that after a period of using the sponge rubber cushion, the freedom from the harsh and rigid constriction of the older type limb and the resiliency of the sponge rubber cushion actually permits a development and enlargement of the calf muscles. Depending upon the activity and physical condition of the individual, these calf muscles will develop in a period of time sufficiently to permit the sponge rubber pad 18 to be completely abandoned.

After the calf muscles have been thus developed or in the case of new amputees, where the surgeon recognized that the new limb will be worn and, therefore, permits the calf muscles to remain as large as possible, the new leg may be worn without any attachments or any additional means of holding it in position. Of course, the usual stocking is worn to prevent chafing and some individuals may find that a pad such as is shown in my U. S. Patent No. 1,319,637, adds materially to the comfort of the stump where it enters the artificial limb. These devices, however, in no way are necessary for the retention of the limb in place on the stump.

Having now described my invention and the manner of using it, I claim as my invention:

1. Means for attaching an artificial limb to the stump of a leg which has been amputated below the knee, comprising a socket in the upper end of said artificial limb, the walls of said socket being substantially straight where they are adapted to contact the shin, but convex where they are adapted to contact the calf of the stump so that the socket is smaller in diameter at its top than lower down, a stump sock fitting within and frictionally engaging said socket, and a resilient pad having an outer surface complementary to the convex wall of said socket and fitting within said stump sock and frictionally engaging that portion of said stump sock which contacts said convex wall, said pad pressing against both the calf of said stump and said convex wall when said stum is inserted in said socket.

2. Means as claimed in claim 1 comprising an additional stump sock fitting within said first named stum sock and frictionally engaging the inner surface of said resilient pad and that portion of said first named stump sock which contacts the straight portion of said socket wall.

EMMETT BLEVENS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 470,431 Marks Mar. 8, 1892 537,093 Wickett et al Apr. 9, 1895 1,319,637 Blevens Oct. 21. 1919 2,080,003 Blevens May 11, 1937 

